CLEVELAND, Oh. — Mallinckrodt PLC, a drug maker that manufactured generic opioid prescription pills, settled an “opioid-crisis” lawsuit with two counties in Ohio for $30 million according to the Wall Street Journal. The parties have not finalized the settlement agreement yet. However, the tentative agreement requires Mallinckrodt PLC to pay $24 million in cash and […]
CLEVELAND, Oh. — Mallinckrodt PLC, a drug maker that manufactured generic opioid prescription pills, settled an “opioid-crisis” lawsuit with two counties in Ohio for $30 million according to the Wall Street Journal. The parties have not finalized the settlement agreement yet. However, the tentative agreement requires Mallinckrodt PLC to pay $24 million in cash and contribute $6 million in generic medications prescribed to help addicts recover from opioid misuse. If the court approves the parties’ agreed resolution of the case, Mallinckrodt PLC will avoid a trial on the allegations of the case scheduled for October of 2019. The two counties involved, Cuyahoga and Summit are home to Cleveland and Akron, respectively, and have been hit hardest by opioid overdoses and deaths in the last several years. Mallinckrodt PLC is based in the United Kingdom.
Cuyahoga and Summit counties filed lawsuits against opioid manufacturers seeking damages and equitable relief to punish the drug companies for spilling their drugs into the counties’ streets. Cuyahoga and Summit counties have settled two lawsuits with other drug companies previously. Endo International and Allergan pharmaceutical companies resolved their cases with Cuyahoga and Summit counties for a combined $16 million. If the settlement is approved, then the case the counties brought against the drug company will be dismissed, and a trial on the ultimate issues avoided according to a report appearing in Cleveland.com.
Cities and counties spanning the breadth of the United States have filed lawsuits against numerous opioid prescription drug manufacturers in an effort to hold the companies responsible for the devastation nearly every community in the U.S. has endured. Currently, there are 2,000 opioid court cases filed by municipal and county governments. Purdue Pharma, one of the largest opioid manufacturers in the U.S., is working diligently to settle all of the cases it faces in the county. Estimates say that the final cost to the company could be as high as $12 billion.